The Christian group 'Passages' celebrated Israel’s 76th Independence Day with hundreds of Christians attending Israeli Independence Day celebrations around the U.S. The celebrations culminated in a solidarity “walk-in” at UCLA in partnership with Students Supporting Israel after a UCLA Israel celebration. The concept of the “walk-in” was created to express support for and solidarity with Jewish and pro-Israel students when anti-Israel students started “walk-outs” on universities around the U.S., creating increasingly hostile campuses for Jews.
Passages participants wore “Christians stand with the Jewish People” and “Christians stand with Israel” t-shirts. They met with Hillel students on UCLA’s campus as a demonstration of Christian support for Israel and Jewish students across the United States.
Before the “walk-in” Passages CEO, Scott Phillips was asked to address the Israeli American Council (IAC) Israel celebration: “If I could share one message, it would be this: Christians across the nation are standing with Israel. We might not be noisy, aggressive or violent as are those who seek Israel’s destruction, but those who want Israel to defeat the evil Hamas and see Israel flourish are the more silent majority across North America. Nevertheless, we are starting to raise our voices and they will be heard.”
“We are here to stand with you,” continued Phillips. “We are here to stand with Israel. We also have alumni attending more IAC events in cities across America, to celebrate and stand with Israel. And we’re not only here today. We are with you tomorrow, and the day after. We stand with you shoulder to shoulder forever. This is our commitment!”
At the IAC Israel celebration, Passages was presented with the Certificate of Appreciation by Elon Carr, CEO of the Israeli American Council. “You really have been agents of godliness here among humanity,” Carr said. “We're so proud of you—we're so grateful to be your partners. Thank you for everything you do.”